Ecology and Evolution of Dung Beetles

Leigh W. Simmons 지음

Wiley-Blackwell 2011년 03월 08일 출간

작품소개

책소개

This book describes the evolutionary and ecological consequences of reproductive competition for scarabaeine dung beetles. As well as giving us insight into the private lives of these fascinating creatures, this book shows how dung beetles can be used as model systems for improving our general understanding of broad evolutionary and ecological processes, and how they generate biological diversity. Over the last few decades we have begun to see further than ever before, with our research efforts yielding new information at all levels of analysis, from whole organism biology to genomics. This book brings together leading researchers who contribute chapters that integrate our current knowledge of phylogenetics and evolution, developmental biology, comparative morphology, physiology, behaviour, and population and community ecology. Dung beetle research is shedding light on the ultimate question of how best to document and conserve the world's biodiversity. The book will be of interest to established researchers, university teachers, research students, conservation biologists, and those wanting to know more about the dung beetle taxon.

목차

List of Contributors.Preface.1. Reproductive competition and its impact on the evolution and ecology of dung beetles (Leigh W. Simmons and T. James Ridsdill-Smith).1.1 Introduction.1.2 Competition for mates and the evolution of morphological diversity.1.3 Competition for resources and the evolution of breeding strategies.1.4 Ecological consequences of intraspecific and interspecific competition.1.5 Conservation.1.6 Concluding remarks.2. The evolutionary history and diversification of dung beetles (T. Keith Philips).2.1 Introduction.2.2 Scarabaeinae diversity and tribal classification issues.2.3 Scarabaeine dung beetle phylogenies.2.4 The sister clade to the Scarabaeinae.2.5 The origin of the dung beetles.2.6 The oldest lineages and their geographic origin.2.7 Evolution of activity period.2.8 The evolution of feeding habits.2.9 Evolution of derived alternative lifestyles.2.10 Evolution of nidification: dung manipulation strategies.2.11 Evolution of nidification: nesting behaviour and subsocial care.2.12 Conclusions.2.13 Future work / gaps in knowledge.3. Male contest competition and the evolution of weapons (Robert Knell).3.1 Introduction.3.2 Dung beetle horns as weapons.3.3 Functional morphology of horns.3.4 Horns as predictors of victory.3.5 Are beetle horns simply tools?3.6 The evolution of horns: rollers vs. tunnellers.3.7 The evolution of horns: population density.3.8 The evolution of horns: sex ratio.3.9 Future work.4. Sexual selection after mating: the evolutionary consequences of sperm competition and cryptic female choice in onthophagines (Leigh W. Simmons).4.1 Introduction.4.2 Sperm competition theorey.4.3 Evolution of ejaculate expenditure in the genus Onthophagus.4.4 Evolutionary consequences of variation in ejaculate expenditure.4.5 Theoretical models of female choice.4.6 Quantitative

출판사 서평

“This book clearly demonstrates the value of dung beetles in a multitude of research disciplines and deserves a place on the bookshelf any scientist or natural historian.”& (J Insect Conserv, 9 February 2012)“Whilst this is already an interesting read, my overwhelming feeling is that there is an opportunity to greatly extend work on the ecology of dung beetles, with a real hope that they will provide genuine insight into common ecological problems. Perhaps this feeling is just what the authors hoped would be produced by their work.”& (British Ecological Society Bulletin, 1 March 2012)"I have however no doubt that there will be a second edition in five or so years time. And if any book deserves a second edition (with more in-situ photographs), it truly is this one." (The Amateur Naturalist magazine, 2011)&

작가정보

저자(글) Leigh W. Simmons

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Leigh Simmons was born and educated in the UK, and is currantly Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Western Australia. His research interests lie in all aspects of reproductive biology, from the evolution of sperm form and function, to mate searching and courtship behaviour.James Ridsdill-Smith was born and educated in the UK but carried out all his research in Australia working for CSIRO Entomology. He has been developing biological and ecological solutions to various pest problems and 15 years involved in the biological control of dung with scarabaeine dung beetles.